Jonathan Oppenheim, editor of 'Paris Is Burning', dies at 67
Jul 21, 2020
Washington D.C. [USA], July 21 : Jonathan Oppenheim, the documentary editor behind the seminal ball culture film 'Paris Is Burning' died on Thursday (local time) in New York City, following a battle with brain cancer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 67.
Oppenheim was born in 1952 in New York City to Oscar-winning actor Judy Holliday and clarinettist, television producer, and academic David Oppenheim. He began his working life as a painter before making his editing debut with the 1980's 'Simon', which starred Alan Arkin.
After working as an apprentice editor on 'Simon', Oppenheim moved up to the assistant film editor position with the 1980's 'The Pilot', 1981's 'Arthur' and 1984's 'The Muppets Take Manhattan'. The same year as 'Muppets, Streetwise', a documentary on which Oppenheim was an associate editor, was nominated for 1985's Academy Award for best documentary, features.
Oppenheim earned his first top-billed editor credit on the 1990's 'Paris Is Burning', which documented New York City's diverse ball culture scene over the course of several years and has become an iconic LGBTQ film.
In the years following 'Paris Is Burning', he gravitated toward documentaries, again and again, working on 1993's 'Hookers Hustlers Pimps and Their Johns', about prostitution in New York; 1997's 'Arguing the World', which profiled intellectuals Daniel Bell, Nathan Glazer, Irving Howe, and Irving Kristol; 2001's Oscar-nominated 'Children Underground', which examined homeless children in Romania; and 2002's DGA nominee 'Sister Helen', regarding a nun who opened a rehabilitation facility for addicts.
Later in the 2000s, Oppenheim tackled schizophrenia ('Out of the Shadow', 2004), a bad marriage ('Phyllis and Harold', 2008), pop star Youssou Ndour ('Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love', 2008), citizen reporting ('High Tech, Low Life', 2012), entrepreneur William Kamkwamba ('William and the Windmill', 2013), Venezuela's El Sistema ('Crescendo! The Power of Music', 2014), Indian cinema lorries ('The Cinema Travelers', 2016) and a Middle Eastern retreat bringing together Palestinians and Jews ('In the Land of Pomegranates, 2018').
He also worked with Laura Poitras on her 2010 9/11 documentary 'The Oath' and edited the Andre Gregory film 'Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner' (2013) and criminal justice documentary 'Blowin' Up' (2018). Oppenheim additionally consulted on films including 'How to Survive a Plague' (2012), 'Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry' (2012), and 'Risk' (2017).
Oppenheim's wife, Josie, said in a statement, "Jonathan began his life in the arts as a painter which informed his sensibility in film. He was a talented and highly original painter but the documentary film was his chosen medium. The collaborative dynamic while not always peaceful was one aspect of the work that Jonathan loved. But he found an outlet for his intellectual and artistic talents in all aspects of documentary film. I can say, as well, that the film community was profoundly important to him, and served as a nurturing soil allowing his very great talents to come into flower. But the community was important to us both really; friendships he forged became our friendships and our daughter's family; became our community as we moved through our lives together."
Oppenheim is survived by Josie and daughter, Netalia. His family plans to announce plans to memorialise his life in the near future.
